


i would have known what i was living for all along

by felixfvlicis



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 13:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1607546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felixfvlicis/pseuds/felixfvlicis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little mini-fic / tag to 3x16 “No Way Out”.  Mike and Harvey are torn between things left unsaid and paths not taken.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i would have known what i was living for all along

Mike's feet were silent as he walked the down the main hallway of Pearson Specter to his cubicle. He was leaving. He was leaving _Harvey_. He squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled, his fingers tracing the outlines of his desk -- his tiny piece of home.

"Mike," Harvey's strained voice jolted him out of his thoughts. "-- Congratulations". And then Harvey looked up, his eyes glassy, jaw tightly clenched, hands firmly at his sides. If Mike even responded with so much as a 'thank you', Harvey knew he would fall apart. But Mike didn't part his lips, didn't let air escape his lungs. He nodded, tightly, looking at Harvey with a steady, watery stare. _I know_ , his eyes whispered an apology, _I'm sorry_. Mike's gaze shifted down to his feet, then up Harvey's body, taking him in for the final time -- feelings of gratitude, admiration, and longing stirred deep within his rib cage -- his eyes appreciating the clean lines of Harvey's suit, the way everything seemed to mold itself to his body, as if it belonged there. _Like he did_.

Finally, Mike managed to speak, his words thick with honesty but soft -- "You're a good man, Harvey." The frown lines on his forehead made themselves known, his eyebrows raised, as if he were surprised that those were the words that came out of his mouth. He wondered if Harvey understood. If he knew what Mike really meant -- how Mike's tight, thick admission of Harvey's goodness was secret associate code for _I don't want to leave you, but I have to. I can't love you, but I do. I owe you everything, and can never repay you. You are my home_. -- if he knew.

Harvey swallowed, tightening his lips. If Mike knew. He needed Mike to understand. Harvey blinked, revealing a sadness in his eyes, the brimming of tears. "Thanks." was all he could manage -- it was a tight response, laced with emotion, with the answer to Mike's unasked question:

_Do you love me?_

Harvey broke Mike's gaze, looking down at his now-old associate's cubicle. He realized he couldn't be _Harvey_   without Mike, but he had to try.

_Yes, I do._

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from "Turning Page" by Sleeping At Last.


End file.
